Fitchburg, WI Property Maintenance: Snow & Sidewalk Clearing (2026)

of the day after the snowfall or ice accumulation ceases. Where ice has bonded to the walk so it cannot be chipped up, the code does not excuse the owner: it requires the surface to be kept effectively sprinkled with sand, salt or another suitable substance so it is not dangerous, until it can actually be removed, at which point removal is required promptly. Section 27-115 backs the deadline with a self-funding remedy: if an owner has not cleared a sidewalk as required, the city street department clears it, keeps an account of the expense, and the city clerk enters that amount on the tax roll each year as a special tax against the specific lot, collected exactly like any other real estate tax.

Section 27-117 adds a separate citation track that does not preclude the special-tax route or vice versa: a city police officer or the director of public works (or a designee) may issue citations for a section 27-114 violation, prosecuted under Wis. 0113 and Chapter 18 of the Fitchburg Code, or by summons, complaint or warrant under Wis. 0114(1)(a). 00, well below the $25 to $1,000 range that applies to unscheduled Code violations under the general penalty in § 1-21(b). A related rule, § 27-116, separately bars dumping snow cleared from private property or driveways onto public roadways; snow moved to reach a mailbox must go onto the terrace instead.